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Racial abuse in football drew criticism after incidents in Germany and England.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino called the behaviour “unacceptable.”
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He pledged action, but many believe tougher measures are needed to end racism in the game.
On Monday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino issued a statement calling the alleged racial abuse at two German Cup matches “unacceptable.”
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“There is no place for racism in football,” – he added.
Match officials halted the Lokomotive Leipzig vs Schalke tie after Schalke winger Christopher Antwi-Adjei said home supporters had racially abused him.
The stadium PA condemned the behaviour, play resumed, but fans continued to jeer Antwi-Adjei and Lokomotive later apologised.
That same day, a visiting Kaiserslautern player reported racial abuse at RSV Eintracht.
The rise in racial abuse in football across competitions is worrying and demands action.
FIFA said it will “continue to closely monitor the incidents” and pledged to work with the German FA (DFB) to address the problem.
These events followed Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo’s allegation of racial abuse during Friday’s Premier League opener at Liverpool, when officials stopped play and Merseyside Police arrested a man on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.
Infantino called it “absolutely unacceptable” that racist abuse had occurred again in recent days.
Meanwhile, words and apologies alone won’t suffice to bring this to a halt.
Clubs, match officials and police must move quickly: give stewards the authority to halt matches, apply consistent sporting penalties, and take credible cases to court.
Visible action, transparent investigations and firm consequences are the only ways to curb racial abuse in football and protect players.
